What does a Credit Manager do?

The role of a Credit Manager is to oversee the collection process of customer accounts, ensure customer satisfaction is high and constantly improving, and sales activity is meeting company goals. A Credit Manager is to establish a smooth running sales and collection system that allows for overall company goals to be achieved with as little difficulty as possible.

The daily activities of a Credit Manager should not vary too much from industry to industry. One skill that is essential for all types of Credit Managers is the skill of communication.

You must be able to communicate efficiently and amicably with customers. You will be measured on your ability to create procedures, policies and a credit management team that is able to acquire timely payments as well as retain a high percentage of customers over the years.

As a Credit Manager, you will need to know the most effective techniques for dealing with unhappy customers in order to appease complaints, keep them as customers and continue to collect payments.

You may also be charged with the responsibility of training and educating service representatives at your company. At this point, you will need to have both a thorough understanding of customer relation policies/procedures and the ability to present clearly and convincingly new concepts and techniques for dealing with customers.

The basic skills needed by a Credit Manager are:

Basic computer skills (eg. EXCEL, WORD and any specialized company software such as MAS 200)

Customer credit analysis procedures

Basic accounting fundamentals

Excellent communication skills

How to Become a Credit Manager?

Educational requirements may vary slightly depending on the company, the area you wish to work and your previous work experience.

For most Credit Manager careers, the minimum educational requirement is the completion of a Bachelor's degree. However, there are many organizations who are now only hiring Credit Managers with a Master's degree or MBA in a related field.

Beyond a quality education and the development of skills necessary to succeed as a Credit Manager, you will need to learn where to gain experience by finding career opportunities.

You will find some career opportunities on Credit Management portals such as The National Association of Credit Management; however, you will probably have quicker results if you contact a local recruiter or begin contacting hiring firms directly. You may find Credit Manager openings under newspaper or online classifieds (Craigslist or Monster.com).

What is a Credit Manager's Salary?

As a Credit Manager, your salary can vary significantly depending on your level of experience, your level of acquired education and size of the company you work for.

The median salary* for a Financial Manager is $91,000.

The top 10% of Financial Managers are pulling in an average of over $150,000.

In order to boost yourself to this level of success, you will need to perform highly, develop years of experience at a respectable company and lastly, earn yourself an advanced degree.

Request information from some of the top online schools in the United States. Online schools are becoming more popular for the working professional and are already highly respected in the business arena.

How does the future look for a Credit Manager?

Job growth for Credit Managers looks stable for the future. As software and education with regard to Credit Analysis has stabled, the need for those to implement collection procedures and educate service specialists on customer relations remains high.

The BLS reports that job growth from 2004 to 2014 is projected to reach 18% for Financial Managers. This means opportunity for motivated individuals willing to earn an advanced education will find many high paying opportunities in the credit industry.

The future looks bright for the Credit Management profession, so go ahead and get started!